Calypso Wonder Friends

I was inspired by one of my downline. She dropped off a sweet card using calypso coral and wisteria wonder. These two new in colours are beautiful but I never would have thought to use them together. Once I saw her card, I figured I had to try a card using those two colours.

At convention we were given a free exclusive stamp set that had different images/sayings that would be useful to us as demonstrators. Things like: thanks for being a great hostess, and Thanks for your order etc.

My convention roomates thought it would be a fun idea to do a virtual swap using this business stamp set. I was given the task of making a card using the "welcome to our Stampin' Up! family" stamp.

I kept it super simple using the beautiful images from the new Best Friends Forever stamp set. I like how it turned out. Right after I finish this post, I am going to run and put some halfback pearls on the card and I think that will finish it off.

When you join my team, I'll be happy to send you this card. :-)

sleeping, movies and chips

The title of this blog post is what I have been doing with the family since last week. I have finally recovered from the serious sleep deprivation I encountered at convention. We are all being completely lazy and the kids wake up each morning and watch tv. Then we finally get around to eating some breakfast. We might play some card games, go swimming and then come back to watch more tv. Once the kids go to bed at night, Kevin and I watch a movie and eat chips. So that's why I haven't been posting because I have nothing exciting to share.

One evening, I managed to stop eating chips long enough to play MDS (my digital studio) while watching a movie. At convention I learned some cool MDS tricks. Here is a tag with "watercolouring" This is using the first edition brush download.

If you want to learn to do this, make sure you talk to me so we can play MDS together.

Speaking of MDS, did you know there is a journal option on MDS? I created a customized journal cover for Kevin for father's day. I placed the order and the UPS man delivered this beautifully bound, lined journal with my customized cover. This was the front and the back had the same stripe design but I had a picture of the kids and a inspirational verse at the bottom.

With the new My Digital Studio Express option available with the new catalogue, owning this wonderful digital design program is more economical than ever!

A great party.

It was a great new catalogue party yesterday. As you know, I love socializing and snacking...espcially when stampin' is involved.
Here's a couple of the projects we made. This one uses the new in colour: Wisteria Wonder. I love how the new ruffled ribbon matches so perfectly with the paper and ink.

This card uses the new hostess products: Posy Punch and the Cheerful Treat DSP. If you want to get your hands on these cute products, make sure you book a time with me to get your friends together for some stampin' fun. I will customize projects for your tastes and interest.

The ink colour is concord crush.

If there are too many beautiful things in the catalogue to order all at once, consider joining one of my Stampers Clubs or signing up as a demonstrator. Contact me anytime! genevieve.ko@sympatico.ca

Stampin Up!: Not a job but a family

When I thought about what I would blog about regarding the last day of convention, what really came to mind is how being a part of Stampin' Up! is really like being a part of a family. Everytime I attend a Stampin' Up! event, the family aspect really hits home. Here are some of my favourite memories:

All the dancing and fun that goes on in the main stage hall as we wait for the presentation to begin. These are girls doing the limbo under their team banner.

These are people dancing to YMCA. The Stampin' Up! staff are not too cool to join in. (I bet you've never seen people and managers dancing while holding swap cards!)

I think Stampin' Up! events have such a positive, family feel because the Stampin' Up! staff are so authentic and fun and down to earth. They mingle among us "commoners" and chat and take pictures without any hesitation. To give you some examples, the pie eating contest that I played where I got chocolate all over my face and hair, was also played by the members of the corporate team. My pie eating partner Dave, is in charge of all of Stampin' Up's international managers and he happily played along with the pie game. He didn't get any prizes though! All week when we saw each other we would refer to each other as "pie eating partners". Here's a picture of us all cleaned up.

It totally impresses me how the corporate team are so accessible and participate so completely in various activities.

Here's a picture of me with Sara Douglass, (daughter of the CEO, Shelli Gardner). She was behind us when we were entering a contest to try and guess where the next incentive trip was. When we turned around as saw who it was, of course we tried to nag her to tell us but her lips were sealed until it would be announced at awards night. I then excitedly told her about my journey since I last had dinner with her a year and a half ago at the Workshop of a Lifetime and that I had earned the incentive trip this year. She actually screamed she was so happy for me.

Another example is the CFO (chief financial officer), Scott. I actully can not recall his last name because we always call him Scott. He was helping out at my make n take session. He ran around helping everyone open their smooch top coat bottles because the lids were so tight. He also dressed up as Santa Claus and handed out prizes. How many company CFO's do this sort of thing?

The demonstrator is so happy at her free prize she's hugging the CFO! I would have too! Free stampin' up product is the best kind of product!

Okay, I think you get the point but I can't help but share one more example. Rich Jutkins is the president and Chief Operating Officer (COO). He was walking along when a demonstor who was new to Stampin' Up! and didn't know who he was, asked him to help her move some chairs. He of course happily obliged although he was probably rushing off somewhere.

Here's a picture of Rich Jutkins holding his daughter. There is a long story about his daughter which I had partially learned about at Leadership. They adopted her and shortly after learned that she was missing half her brain and therefore had very little use of one side of her body and obviously was not meeting the regular childhood milestones. He was thankful for all the kind words and prayers so he brought his daughter on stage so that we could see how well she is doing. She is now able to wave and talk a little bit. It was so touching.

He explained that when we focus only on numbers and tangible things such as how many dollars of sales or how much money we make, we can lose sight of the really important intangible things. For example, his daughter is technically in the 1st percentile in her abilities but that number doesn't reflect the joy that she brings their family every day.

For myself, I never want to lose sight of the joy that crafting and relating with my friends brings to me.

If any of you have been wondering about becoming a demonstrator, I hope my experiences at Convention have opened your eyes a little bit. I know that people often say they could never be a demonstrator because they can't do what I do or they can't talk in big groups or they don't have time. I'll leave you with the Stampin' Up! mission statement which says nothing about selling stuff or being outgoing or anything. Here it is:

If you want to talk further about the demonstrator opportunity, please contact me because there is a starter kit promotion this month. A mini starter kit is available for $119.

I am back at home and need to unpack. It's great being home and seeing the kids. Can't wait to catch up with you all soon.

make n take muddles

Another full day here in Salt Lake City. The day was full of classes and another general session. At the general session I had the fun of walking across the stage again for some milestone awards (which is why I was told when I registered online that I was receiving an award). Here's a small picture of me. Maybe if you squint you can see me. (I'm wearing the blue shirt).

Here's the award I received: 3 new stamp sets Yeah!

(Thank you again to my Team S.T.I.C girls and my stampin' friends who make my "job" as a demonstrator so rewarding!)

Today was also the day for the make and take session. It's a 2 hour session with several make n take projects. I worked as hard as I could and this is all I got done in 2 hours:

One 3X3 card and covering the lid of a box with the timeless portrait fabric. Sad. I know. I was so bummed that I didn't get anything else done. It wasn't just me. Someone else I met said all she managed to do was put the fabric on her lid and then do the very ornate paper flower that goes on top. I feel like such a novice crafter! The make n takes here are intense.

I had signed up for an optional class called "Every last Detail" It was supposed to highlight the finishing touches kind of techniques that make a project from ordinary to "wow!".

Truly the class did focus on the little details. We were supposed to make 6 elements to put into a frame. We managed to get two done. Here's a picture of one of the ones I didn't get done to give you an idea of how cute the projects were. The new in colours are fabulous! I am loving the pool party, lucky limeade and calypso coral combo!

Hmmm, so much more to share but really, it's just too much to put on a blog. Every day is so jam packed! A couple of the girls in my room are now off to go see the Harry Potter Movie. I think sleeping is in order for me!

What a day!!!!

As I mentioned in my previous post, Dina and Esther entered by secret passage into the convention centre at 4:45am to line up for the general session. Listening to Esther retell their stealth mission put me into stitches laughing. Apparently the entire convention centre was locked up but Dina found some way in. Dina kept telling Esther to be quiet and stop her bag from jangling. I think Esther almost lost it when she was trying so hard to be quiet but accidentally knocked over the large wooden flower display and broke it. They then had to pretend to lie down and sleep when women outside started knocking on the door trying to get in. Can you imagine the hysteria that I missed? I rolled in much later and just strolled to the front of the line and watched the excitment mount as the time ticked closer to the start of general session. I was informed that an elderly lady behind us in line, tore her hamstring running to the front row seats when they opened the doors last year. Here's Dina knocking on the door. It was an incredible experience when they opened the door and we ran like mad to try and get the front row seats. Stampin' Up! had lined the path with staff members who high fived us as we ran in to loud, energetic music. We felt like super sports stars or movie stars or something. Very cool! Fortunately, none of us tore our hamstrings and managed to get awesome seats where we didn't miss a thing.

There are thousands of people at convention. Here's a shot of us demonstrators from above... Sometimes I felt like a sardine!

Time to show you a few samples that I saw displayed throughout the convetion centre. I swapped all my cards (and yours too, Shelley!). Swapping cards is so fun. All the beautiful and different ideas are so inspirational. Come out to my open house on July 21st to see all my swaps!

The evening was the awards night. All the top demonstrators are honoured. It was interesting for me to see these hugely famous and successful demonstrators go on stage to receive their awards and special jewllery and coach bag gifts. They also had asked all the demonstrators who earned the Disney trip to do a march across the stage so here I am. They also announced the new incentive trip for next year is to Fiji. Frankly, the pace of convention is a little much for me. I am so sleep deprived I don't even feel tired.

Still...I'm glad I didn't miss it.

Momento Mall

I took so many pictures yesterday I couldn't upload them all at once. This morning I thought I would share my photos from Momento Mall. For those of you who don't know, Momento Mall is a special place that is set up by Stampin' Up! within the convention center where you can shop for exclusive Stampin' Up! logo type things or supply items. There has been a whole experience that has risen up with Momento Mall. People can not wait to see what cute, beautiful items will be on sale and people want to be one of the first into the "mall" to buy everything. Although our experienced roommate from Kansas City informed us that it really was not necessary to line up for hours to get in since later in the day the line woul be gone and we could just walk in, the fear and the rumours about things getting sold out was still in our minds. Since myself, Esther and Erin were first time convention attendees we didn't want to miss out. Also, I had to hustle myself to the VIP tour I talked about yesterday and was worried I wouldn't have time later so our compliant and friendly roomate came along with us to line up and shop. Here I am in line. I'm still smiling even though we'd been in line for about an hour.

To give you a flavour of the experience, once you get into the quardrened (sp?) off area that is the momento mall, the room is filled with merchandise but of course it is not just thrown around it ugly bins. It is all displayed and decorated Stampin' Up! style. The beauty of it all just makes you want to shop! (which is probably the point...) Here's a couple of displays in the room. I know these pictures don't do it justice but it just gives you an idea.

These are beautiful pear pizzazz umbrellas with the stampin' up logo and I think there is an image of a stamp set but I can't remember which one. Of course I picked up one of those. I also bought a sweater, the cutest little pens, playing cards with the pocketful of posies dsp images...

Here is a lovely flower pot display with paper flowers (the theme of the convention is GROW) next to a wheelbarrow full of ribbon keychains.

I have so much more to share but I have to stop now. My downline Esther got up at 4:45am to get in line at the convention centre for the main welcome session. I felt no need to join her but have been awake anyway enjoying some quiet moments before the mayhem of the first day of convention begins. It's 6:20 and I should probably think about putting on some make up and joining her in line.

My first day of Convention

Here I am! After a long day of flying and delayed airplanes and no food, we made it! Today was the first full day here. Today was the day when you check in, get your convention bag, line up for hours to get into momento mall...

Here's a quick synopsis of the day. It was so full, I didn't get a chance to rest so I am exhausted but happy.

We got our bags and our convention stamp sets that we will use for the make n takes. We also got a special catalogue that fits into a binder with tabs. We enjoyed searching through our convention bag and watching the sights of the other ladies walking by with their wonderful creative hats and bags. Here's some ladies who had swapping aprons!

I was eligible for VIP treatment since it was a special incentive for people who had someone join their team in April. (Thanks Irina for joining!) One of the VIP perks was getting a special tour of the Stampin' Up! home office. The home office is such a warm soothing place. I would love to work in such a beautiful building. It doesn't feel like the typical office building at all. The distribution centre is attached and we got to see how they pack the boxes and do the quality control. We saw so many boxes ready for shipping but the staff said the orders were so slow because so many demonstrators were at convention. If today was a slow day, I can't imagine a busy day! I always imagined people walking around the warehouse with shopping carts filling our orders but in fact, the process is completely automated. The boxes run along these tracks and exit the track when they are at the section that they need to pick up something. The worker scans the barcode on the box and the shelf will light up under the item that needs to be put in the box. Crazy huh?

The other VIP perk was getting a special meet n greet with Shelli Gardner in a VIP lounge where there was these fabulous donuts. I managed to restrain myself and eat only one!

I have so many more pictures and a crazy story of how I was on stage at the Kick off Party tonight eating a large chocolate tart without using my hands. Hey, in the spirit of the craziness of convention, I was completely willing to embarress myself for a pack of designer series paper!

That's all for now!

All things new!

Today I am heading out for Stampin' Up!'s annual convention in Utah. Many of you have asked what the difference is between the conference I went to in January in Nashville and the one I am heading off to today. The annual convention is apparently much more focused on stamping and using and learning about the wonderful new products whereas the leadership conference in January was more focused on learning how to develop the business. So, although I have never been to convention before, I am expecting to play a lot with stamps! I can't wait to see all the new catalogue things in action. I am always inspired by other's ideas so I know I will come back with a brain full of ideas that I can't wait to show off in club or classes.

Make sure you RSVP to me for my New Catalogue Open house on July 21st. I will have special offers, new make n takes, and prizes to give away. Come and bring a friend!



Stay tuned on the blog. I hope to have internet so I can share the fun I'm having at Convention.

To get you thinking of new things, here's a card we made at a team meeting using the new Pennant Parade set and co-ordinating punch.

I'm so excited!

I'm going to Stampin' Up! convention tommorrow where I am going to learn lots of new things, see wonderful Stampin' Up! product in action and generally have a great time. I know I"m going to love it already even though I haven't left because I just did my online check in and this is what I see right after I hit the "confirm check in" button.

"CONGRATULATIONS! You have won an award. Please pick up your award at the info and awards booth"

Could it be that I won the stamp room makeover contest? I am thinking that it is quite unlikely. There are other draws and contests going on during convention and I can't keep up with them all. The only one I can remember is the $50 hotel room voucher so maybe I won that?! Anyway, I just had to share that I haven't even gotten to convention yet and I've gotten something free.
I love being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator!

Become a Stampin' Up! demonstrator

Sorry, there's no promotion link on my blog but just go to my website at www.genevieve.stampinup.net and you can find out everything you need to know. This starter kit promotion is great because you can customize a mini starter kit for only $119. (no tax and shipping) You'll also receive a free project kit valued at $50. Being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator is super fun. You get to share your love of crafting while earning money while getting free and discounted products. How much better does it get than that?

Contact me to sign up or sign up directly on my website under the "join the fun" tab.

I'm still here...so much to share

Hi. Sorry I haven't posted for a while. Mommy camp is finished. It was a good experience but I can't say I would do it again. My son just didn't grasp the mommy as camp counsellor concept. One of my goals was to work on cutting skills so every day would we would cut out pieces for a mural. Here is the finished mural. Colourful huh?

I've had so many things I wanted to share but just didn't sit down to do it. Whenever I sit down, I've been working on my swaps for convention. I am finished everything except I ran out of baja breeze seam binding. I knew I was going to run short which is why I placed an expedited order July 1st however there was a customs issue and my seam binding is stuck in Winnipeg. Arrrrrgh!!!!! Perfection on my swap card is thwarted. It's amazing how easy it was for me to lose perspective. I was on the phone being polite but curt with the fedex rep explaining that it was absolutely urgent that I receive my package on Monday. I was trying to nail her down as to when my package would arrive but they couldn't give me a date. Groan. I am leaving on Tuesday for Utah! I got onto the demonstrator forum and wouldn't you know there was ranting and cursing from a whole crew of Canadians whose packages are all delayed in customs. For some reason seeing all the chaos on the forums made me calm down. "It's just ribbon. It's okay. In the grand scheme of things, this is nothing. I can do it. I can use old olive ribbon with my pear pizzaz/baja breeze card. " Self talk and self counselling is a good thing. Okay, got that irritation off my chest and now you know how seriously obsessed I am about my cards.... Now to share...

First, Canada Post is back in action so I have received a few more birthday cards I thought I would share.

This one is from Ada using the tart and tangy set and the teeny tiny wishes.

This one is from Mai using her beautiful japanese paper and sturdy Stampin' Up cardstock:

This one is from Pei Pei. It's a magic slider card. It arrives like this:

Then you pull and Voila! Isn't it so cute! That owl punch is the best!

The other thing I wanted to share was a picture of Regina picking up her loot from the Crazy Birthday Promotion. She was the lucky winner of the $170 hostess freebies that accrued. She used most of her allottment buying the fabulous big shot. Here she is!

Swaps for Convention

So, why haven't you seen anything new from me lately? I should be thrilled that the new catalogue has gone live and I should be madly playing with my new stamp sets and paper right? That's exactly what I would be doing except that I am going to Convention this year. Convention is Stampin' Up!'s famous event for demonstrators (and guests if enough room) where they give out awards, highlight all the new things and just generally have fun, Stampin' Up! style. Going to any kind of Stampin' Up! event means that I have to prepare swaps. Technically I don't have to swap but I feel I would be missing out on one of the experiences. It's so great to see other people's card ideas and get samples of stamp sets and paper that I don't own. In my spare time, I have been cutting paper to get ready to assemble and stamp my swap cards. Here's the mess so far. I thought doing this card (which was a make n take at my summer mini release party) would be simple because it's just punching and glueing. Yeah. I am getting repetitive strain in my hands from punching so many little squares and I didn't realize that sticking all those squares down in a non-crooked manner is extremely difficult when you are making 48 card fronts.

I haven't even started on the flower embellishment which involves heat embossing and...you guessed it...more punching.

I planned to do 48 of these cards and then 48 card fronts using the Nature Walk stamp set. (on a side note, I am soo soo soo happy that Nature Walk made it into the new catalogue)

I am starting to despair that I will get everything done. You won't believe what I am doing this week. I had decided many weeks ago not to send my younger two kids to camp. I figured I could save the money and do my own home camp so I could really focus on some school preparation skills for my youngest child. My kids are thrilled. We are calling it "mommy camp". They figure they will have all the fun of camp but still see mommy so it's all good for them. Me, on the other hand, is now completely stressed out because it's 11:00pm the night before mommy camp and I haven't even started preparing the camp craft, camp snack and camp games yet. Fortunately, as a mother of three children, I have learned that spontaneity is possible.

Anyway, if you don't hear from me for a while, you know what I"m up to. I will definitely post again before I go to convention next week.